I did notice around the 5 minute mark there's a flag that comes into frame along the bottom that's standing straight out. I wonder how close to "too windy" it was for them to still go ahead with the lift.

Palms sweating just watching that. I saw the clip of Matt Lauer interviewing one of the workers as they lifted it... say what you will about 'ol Mattie, but he has nerves of steal to be standing on that gantry. I would literally be frozen in place.

If you can walk the high steel and i've never been that high up you don't see it quite the same. You are secure in your surrounding and your environment. You don't let the view distract from task at hand.

I've long been amazed that on these enormous lifts, it's still up to puny humans to do the final placement, which I would have thought would be impossible given the inertia and the wind and twisting moments.

About a dozen whoops there goes my finger moments in the last minute.

And it also relies on the crane being absolutely braked and not letting that thing slip even an 1/8th of an inch. This was the first video I've seen of that being done, so thank you subby, thank you FARK.

And yes, I don't know why gopro insists on fisheyes, they are probably farking aliens or something. Might be interesting to make an anti-gopro dewarping viewer.

I remember reading that on the Golden Gate Bridge when lowering the tower frames onto the foundation, or onto lower members in the towers, that exterior framing support members like the kind seen in the final minute that wrapped around the spire are actually too tight, and the holes are not aligned, and they all require gravity to force the frames apart enough to allow the final fit and at that point the rivet holes would be aligned. On the Golden Gate Bridge at least.

I stand by my original idea that we should have erected two enormous statues on the roof- one NYPD officer and one FDNY fireman. Both statues would be facing east with their hands out, middle fingers prominent.

Fixxor:Not to be crude, but they have better exit stategies from the higher floors this time right? like parachutes or something?

No parachutes.Taken from WTC.comOne WTC will incorporate advanced life-safety systems that exceed New York City building code requirements. From structural redundancy to dense fireproofing to biochemical filters, it will create a new standard for high-rise buildings. Extra-wide pressurized stairs, multiple backups on emergency lighting, and concrete protection for all sprinklers will ensure optimal firefighter access. Exits are designed to ensure easy evacuation, and all safety systems will be encased in the core wall, with the enhanced elevators.

RoyBatty:I remember reading that on the Golden Gate Bridge when lowering the tower frames onto the foundation, or onto lower members in the towers, that exterior framing support members like the kind seen in the final minute that wrapped around the spire are actually too tight, and the holes are not aligned, and they all require gravity to force the frames apart enough to allow the final fit and at that point the rivet holes would be aligned. On the Golden Gate Bridge at least.

/coffee table books, what haven't I learned from them?

In the same vein, I remember reading that when they completed the span for the Oakland Bay Bridge, they forgot to take curvature of the Earth into account, and therefore the bolt holes were misaligned by an inch and a half.

I thought watching that would freak me out, with my severe acrophobia . . . but the retarded fisheye lens distorted it so badly that I couldn't get any sense of perspective. For all I could tell, they might have been 5 feet off the ground, if I didn't know better.

HotWingAgenda:I thought watching that would freak me out, with my severe acrophobia . . . but the retarded fisheye lens distorted it so badly that I couldn't get any sense of perspective. For all I could tell, they might have been 5 feet off the ground, if I didn't know better.

darch:HotWingAgenda: I thought watching that would freak me out, with my severe acrophobia . . . but the retarded fisheye lens distorted it so badly that I couldn't get any sense of perspective. For all I could tell, they might have been 5 feet off the ground, if I didn't know better.

Really? Five feet?

Like I said, I do know that they are almost 2,000 feet up. But the fisheye distorts it so badly I can't get a sense of the straight-down distance.

UNAUTHORIZED FINGER:RoyBatty: I remember reading that on the Golden Gate Bridge when lowering the tower frames onto the foundation, or onto lower members in the towers, that exterior framing support members like the kind seen in the final minute that wrapped around the spire are actually too tight, and the holes are not aligned, and they all require gravity to force the frames apart enough to allow the final fit and at that point the rivet holes would be aligned. On the Golden Gate Bridge at least.

/coffee table books, what haven't I learned from them?

In the same vein, I remember reading that when they completed the span for the Oakland Bay Bridge, they forgot to take curvature of the Earth into account, and therefore the bolt holes were misaligned by an inch and a half.

Sounds bogus, the earth's curvature over 2 miles would cause a "drop" of around 3 feet. Besides, when they surveyed it how would they "forget" to account for the curvature of the earth? They were looking right at it!

Rezurok:Sounds bogus, the earth's curvature over 2 miles would cause a "drop" of around 3 feet. Besides, when they surveyed it how would they "forget" to account for the curvature of the earth? They were looking right at it!

It very well could be. I don't even remember where I read it. Hell, I might be quoting Herb Caen (look him up if you're young) for all I know. Itmay be one of those Cliff Clavin factoids that I've accumulated over 50+ years. And if it isn't on the internet, it never happened. :)

UNAUTHORIZED FINGER:Rezurok: Sounds bogus, the earth's curvature over 2 miles would cause a "drop" of around 3 feet. Besides, when they surveyed it how would they "forget" to account for the curvature of the earth? They were looking right at it!

It very well could be. I don't even remember where I read it. Hell, I might be quoting Herb Caen (look him up if you're young) for all I know. Itmay be one of those Cliff Clavin factoids that I've accumulated over 50+ years. And if it isn't on the internet, it never happened. :)

/really? Three feet?

maybe it was only an inch and a half between sections or towers or something..

RaceBoatDriver:Look at all those constructions workers standing around doing nothing.

Part of the reason it took 12 farking years to get the thing built.

That and the farking poiticians and the farking lawyers and other assorted meddling stooges demanding their payoffs in whatever form. But hey, this whole tragedy built a rock-solid foundation for the USA's Grief Industry which has created thousands of jobs, so it was well worth it.

I live right across the river from this building and let me tell you, it looks massive from a distance. I can only imagine what it looks like up close. Still would've preferred 2 updated versions of the TT's, but this building, now that it's almost complete, is VERY beautiful, IMO.